The Banefire
October 31, 1868. Sundown.
The Hilltop is more sinister than ever before. The air itself is heavy with tension. Though the full moon illuminates every blade of grass and each of the six great stones that form the Hill's triangle-within-a-triangle, there's a darkness hanging here it cannot touch.
At the center of the meadow, at the heart of the inner triangle, a pile of wood and brush forms a small hill of its own. It's a well-built, though as yet unlit, bonfire: heavy logs at the base, lighter sticks near the top, shot through with dry kindling.
A coyote sits near the banefire, watching, waiting. A black fox waits with him. Of others, there is little sign.
Its felt long before seen. A wave of heat, a spiritual pressure that approaches the point of the banefire. Soon, a light illuminates the top of the trees. Oranges and reds, as if the sun were rising again, even though it surely sets. A wind blows, and then it is here: the Phoenix, countless souls gathered together for a single purpose. A great bird of fire and light, descending like an angel from Heaven. It alights upon the ground, and beneath it the land smolders here, grows there, burning and renewing in harmony. Upon its back people ride. Caliban, his master and partner Shaft, and Pau. The great bird's head bows, allowing them to climb down.
"That was exhilarating and disturbing," Shaft comments as he climbs down, holding his bundle of equipment, and then offers a hand up to Miss Pau.
The chimpanzee hops off after his master. He's carrying a large backpack-style frame on his back with tarpaulin-wrapped bundles of equipment. Showtime, boss, he ooks as he sets this down and starts unpacking the gear, both his and his master's.
Miss Pau accepts his hand, descending. She smiles at Yotee, but her eyes are sad. "Have you been waiting long, my friend?"
Lei chirps, and flies over to Yotee. She circles his head once, and lands between his ears.
Herbert turns to unpacking as well, setting up the two large tripods for mounting the Amplifier and Lamp onto.
The coyote is very impressed! He watches the firey descent, circling protectively on the spot then sitting again. He bobs his head as the others dismount. Close examination reveals an odd rock between his paws. All day. There was a little to talk about, then nothing to talk about. His mouth opens in a grin to Miss Pau, and his ears flick as the bird lands betewen them.
The phoenix's voice becomes predominantly feminine, with undertones of prey bird cries and equine whinnies, all above the rumble of an unseen inferno. Green flames lick from its eyes. "Trouble, you're here... I am glad... did Mr. Waites find a way... to control the Portal?" After the voice fades, the green flames die to gold again.
Herbert connects the modified Spirit Stunner to the Amplifier. He's added a two-foot long length of (somewhat rusty) iron pipe to the end to give Caliban extra reach, with the power lead running through it.
No. Mismatched eyes of gold and blue stare back at the great Phoenix's. Trouble gives a little shrug, We'll manage somehow.
Caliban surveys the device a little sadly. Too bad we didn't have time to do it up proper, boss, he observes, swinging it a bit to judge its heft. Yeah, I can work with this.
"We will," agrees the Phoenix, eyes briefly greening again.
"Just remember to stay close by," Shaft tells Caliban, and starts connecting the Lamp and it's battery.
The Phoenix stares ahead, not as if looking at something, but as if looking beyond. It seems supremely detached from the bustle around it, like an enternal flame, unwavering. And a flame it surely is, for its gentle glow illuminates that which the moon's light cannot reach. It may remind one of the heartfire of home, or a campfire and a hearty meal, of warmth, safety, and of love. The feelings seem to eminate from more than its aura, but from a subtle projection from its mind. It is bidding you all be safe, be at ease, and that it loves you -- a soft song, barely heard, echoing in time with the ripple of its flames.
Not long after sundown, Randall Waites emerges from the trees. Like Alorn and St. John, he says little: a nod to his Companion, a nod to Miss Pau. An hour later, Rev. Hale appears at the head of the path. He has a sour expression, and it gets more bitter when he sees the Phoenix. He turns to Mr. Shaft. "Tell me you're not going through with this mad plan."
"I can't accept a world where our souls are withering away," Shaft replies. "We'd all go mad, or commit the worst atrocities as souls try to feed on others to survive."
The coyote has already given his answer, and doesn't voice his reasons or doubts. He watches Randall, Marseilles, his rock and the others.
The chimpanzee looks up from where he is helping his boss finish up the assembly and nods to the Reverend. Hey Prayer, he ooks quietly, checking if the mouse is in earshot. What happened with the witch hunters?
"Please, Reverend... please realize, we considered everything we could based on everything we learned," The Phoenix's eyes flare green again, that familiar woman's voice in it coming to the fore in chorus, more distinct and less scattered than before. "It may be a mad plan, but it's not thoughtless or rash either. We have seen to the other side, and while it is a kind of hell, it is not the one the damned go to. We don't mean to throw the way open... we mean to stop those that would come through and secure life for everyone! And if we can't, it may be that you can still close it."
Prayer climbs out of Rev. Hale's pocket and squeaks at Caliban. /They're all spooked. By that /DEVOURING COMPLETE!? and then that weird plea for unity against evil. They took the cross of fire as a sign that they needed to gather in the church and bring all the townspeople their to pray for unity and strength and healing for the town. Hale tried to convince them to come here and stop you, but they were dead-set on 'remaining unified'. Especially when all you lot weren't around at dawn./
We greet you, Reverend Hale, and we are glad you are well, the sombre music that is the Phoenix's telepathic voice bids. We know your heart in this matter, and we are saddened by it. But we offer you this, that you may reflect on it: Jesus. We know of the Redeemer, god-son, of his sacrifice that others may be saved. We know that he is a great hero, and that his ways are foundation of vast religion. We know that he stood before what is considered a great evil, and turned it aside. These qualities we, too, value. Think, O Reverend, and judge. And if you cannot see in us goodness, then we ask you do not interfere. We love all the world's children, and would do you no harm.
Herbert connects the second power lead to the Amplifier, and then approaches Randall. "A word with you, Mr. Waite?" he asks the man.
The chimpanzee nods at Prayer. Every prayer counts. He winks, the dim light in his eye vanishing then reappearing, to show the pun was intended.
Hale's mouth sets in a line at Bernice's plea, but at the voice he snarls. "Don't presume to lecture me on the Lord, you pagan demonspawn! Unholy thing! My God, what have you done?"
A faint grimace flickers over the calm, almost serene expression on Randall's face, before he replies simply "What, Mr. Shaft?"
After the more sombre tone the Phoenix takes, the eyes go green again, and the voice becomes female, though with a tinge of french accent. "Sacre bleu... we did not mean to frighten them. We meant that Horus-self had consumed the energy prepared for us to make our plea possible. The tidbit that Trouble talked about in the... soup."
Caliban reaches into his waistcoat and flips open the cover on a fine stainless steel pocketwatch to check the time, then looks up to study the brilliant moon, then slips the watch back into his pocket.
The mouse squeaks back at Caliban, his whiskers twitching in amusement. Then he cringes at Hale's anger. He scurries up to his Player's shoulder and presses his body against Hale's neck, above his collar.
"My device can increase the power of your artifact, if you'd allow a wire to be attached to it," Shaft explains. "Since you're the one who will be trying to manage the growth of the Portal, I think it best if your Staff takes advantage of this."
Yotee looks meaningfully at Marseilles, Do the tricks like I showed. They're very big, we'll have to be very sly. It starts soon.
The eyes flicker gold a moment, then go green again. "D-.. demon spawn?" The womanly voice is soft, and carries an oddly upset whicker. "We are no sort of demon. We're the ones you knew. We still have the same desire to help. We don't mean to lecture or insult, please forgive us. We have joined ourselves together in a bid to fight off the masters, and only with those willing to aid us. We did not begrudge any who refused."
Randall murmurs "wait", as he unstraps a small pot from his ruck. Opening it up, he carefully pulls out an oil lamp - a rather crude and simplistic item made of rough stone. Oddly, the wick is already lit. "Wire this, instead."
"Ah, wait, exactly what do you mean by that comment, Mr. Shaft?" Randall asks curiously "Manage what?"
The vixen in black lace nods her head. For a moment her mouth opens in a foxish grin, her eyes bright blue. I'll be very good.
The Phoenix beats its wings, and it sobre tone rises, making it sound pleased. They have heard us, they have seen our sign. We thank them, and wish them well. Know that we never ment harm upon this town, nor any other. The Phoenix waits for its other personality to speak, then continues, Judge us then, by our acts. Know that within us, are those that saved you from The Hill. We have cast off our bodies, we have risked our flesh, our souls, in this final gambit, that all may live, that we may be victorious. If, for all that, you cannot accept, then please, leave us, and do no harm.
Shaft nods, and gestures for the man to follow closer to the Amplifier, since the wire is only six feet long. It's a simple matter to tie the orichalcum wire around the lamp.
"I was told you might be able to slow the expansion of the Portal using the Staff," Shaft tells Randall. "Once it grows beyond twenty feet across, we may not be able to fully cover it with our defenses against the Masters, and more of them could come through than we can handle."
Hale touches a hand to his Companion, who gives him a pleading look and nips one finger. He ignores it, watching the Phoenix dourly. "I accept that you are honestly misguided, whoever, whatever you are now. But you remain misguided. I am here to Close the Portal, and if I am the only one who'll do so, so be it. I will not balk or falter. This is my place."
"I think....wait, no, don't tell me." Randall glances over at the coyote. "Hey, bootchewer, exactly what did you tell these people?"
The coyote gazes towards Randall now, the same thing I've always told you: take a risk. Gamble.
"Well.. we might be able to use the Seal to retard the growth somewhat, then," Shaft mutters.
And you? The Phoenix's head turns now, until it regards Hale's Companion with its blinding, radiant eyes. We would hear your stance, and bid you the same. If you will not help, not stand aside, please leave that you may be safe. We will not risk the world for one man, and we have not the time to offer further truths. Though, we fear, your Companion will remain deaf irregardless of what we say, how hard we try, or what is at stake.
Pfft is the dignified reply to Yotee's comment. Turning back to the machine, Randall says "No. The portal will open, when and if it opens, quickly. It will take no time to spin out of whatever control you might think I'll have, and within a few days it will meet itself coming around the far side of the globe. 20 feet? Don't blink."
The Phoenix's eyes go green again, and it opens its fiery beak to say something, but pauses. That strange shift in personality is a little jarring, from regal and proud to sidling from side to side like a giant burning parakeet, somewhat unbefitting its splendor. "Reverend, please... we appreciate what you wish to do. You owe us nothing, not your life, not your allegience, not so much as a good day. But we beg you to consider this... what are you doing this for? Are you doing this because you are certain you have a chance of Closing? Are you doing this for principle?"
I'm his Companion, Prayer squeaks to the Phoenix. I won't leave him.
"Because I must." Hale takes his place beside the Banefire. He glances at the moon. "Let's get this started." He strikes a match.
The chimpanzee looks up at this. Boss, he ooks in a soft whisper. Maybe we should hook the wire to the Rev's gizmo. If things go bad...
There are ways you don't believe will work. Think on them again. There are more than players here, with power, some rules have bent. Find the holes, that's what I look for. What have you left out of your calculations? Yotee asks, tilting his head as he stares at Randall.
Or be ready to switch where we hook it, Caliban adds.
Still with the green eyes, the Phoenix keens unhappily. "Because you must? You must throw your weight against this, and not only throw your life away, but worsen any chance that our misguided efforts will succeed? I ask you, Reverend... is it God and His people that you are doing this for? Or is it you?"
"If you do manage to Close the gate, oh man of God, remember to ask that your tombstone reads 'godslayer'." Randall pitches his voice to carry, harshly and clearly across the clearing. "So the generations still to come will know who to curse as they live and die in vain, berefit of God's touch."
"We can win, Caliban," Shaft says. "We can kill the devil. If things go bad though, then yes, we can switch to Closing. We know it was done at least once before after Opening."
Caliban nods, then gives his master a last hug. All right, boss. We can do it. We're gonna do it!
Out of the the moonlight, a white shape steps, an equine form with billowing mane and a horn of moonbeam. A willowy blond woman is at her side, one hand on her neck. "Not too late," she whispers.
"I'm going to trigger the Seal right after the Portal forms though, to try and contain it," Shaft notes. "Remember to be ready for it."
Got it, the chimpanzee ooks back. He thumbs-up.
The Phoenix lifts a wing, and the tip glows fitfully. Then let us begin, it projects. Meet your destiny head on, and without fear. Walk forward, O children, with your head high.
"Let's like the fire," Herbert says.
Hale throws in the match. The Banefire begins.
Prayer, Yotee stares at the mouse hiding around Hale's collar, We need your player's strength to resist what is on the other side, not us. Ask him, he's seen true darkness and it is not us.
Within moments, the wood of the Banefire is engulfed in flames, shimmering across a weird spectrum of colors: from yellows to reds, then deep purples verging on blue. In its depths, the Players and their Companions can glimpse the Other that lies beyond. The Veil thins.
Herbert turns the Amplifier towards it, and watches tensely.
Within the depths of the fire, an astral Hell looms, barely caged. Monsters beyond description surge and writhe, beating at the thinning barrier, howling in unheard triumph. Their voices fill the minds of the Players and Companions: WE TRIUMPH! OUR TIME IS NOW!
The chimpanzee readies his Stunner. Hoo boy, he whispers to his boss.
Your time is over, the Phoenix answers, and its flames flicker before intensifying. It seems to prepare itself without moving its body, its fire roiling, dancing, before running like waves across its body in a unidied flow.
The coyote sinks down, lying his muzzle over his rock, lidding his eyes to stare through bare slits into the depths of the flames.
The phoenix's eyes flash green, but only for a moment, intense concentration on the fiery bird's countenance. "Please, Reverend... please, it's not too late... help us... fight alongside us..."
Herbert tears his eyes off the vista for a moment to push the Seal towards the base of the banefire, and keeps his foot ready on the triggering pedal.
Hale's eyes have widened in horror. He doesn't hear the Phoenix's plea, but he can feel the tide of the Banefire tilting against the Closing. There's a tidal wave battering the dam: he can't possibly plug all the cracks.
... and Hale doesn't. The Banefire explodes. The Reverend is hurtled backwards, Prayer squeaking in fear.
The flames of the Banefire shoot around Caliban and Shaft, leaving them unharmed, and Yotee leaps above his. Randall is writhed in multicolored flames at the explosion. Rae is knocked back by the Unicorn, who shields her with her body.
Herbert steps on the trigger to the Seal of Solomon, taking Randall's warning of
"Don't Blink" to heart and not waiting.
The Phoenix weathers the fire without flinching, it's own fire mingling and casting away the Banefire. When Hale is thrown back, the Great Bird lifts its wing and catches his smoking body, pulling him close and shielding him and his Companion from the flames that wash over it.
Randall! Yotee barks, landing, growling, trying to see what's become of his friend.
Even as it acts to shield those next to it, the Phoenix's eyes go green again, and flare brighter than before. "No!" cries its female voice, and its hooked beak stays open, the cry reverberating, and then seeming to draw inward. Flames stream away from Randall and toward the creature's maw.
The last vestiges of the Banefire clinging to Randall are drawn away by the Phoenix's inward breath, multicolored flames swept off and leaving streams of smoke pulling away, and the burning bird's eyes pale back to gold again.
Even as the explosion is roiling the scene, spirits are surging to the Portal.
Not one spirit. Not little spirits. Master Spirits. Too many for most of the Players to tell at first, although the Phoenix can tell: there's twenty of them massed at the edge of the veil. They scream in fury and pain as the Seal lights up. Five of them are pushed out by the force of those beyond them. They scramble to get out of range of the Seal.
The chimpanzee, illuminated in a ghostly fashion so that his wide-open eyes are easily seen, screeches in horror at the appearance of the Master Spirits. Girding himself up against the pain which he knew the Seal of Solomon would bring, he charges forward and thumbs the switch on the Stunner, trying to immobilize one of the escapees right in front of his master so that it can be channeled into the Amplifier. Great Spirits, give me strength to endure this, he prays.
Herbert grits his teeth in pain as well, and swings the Amplifier to follow the point of the Stunner.
The Master spirits are an incomphrensible amalgam of colors and shifting shapes, like clouds of tentacles lashing and clawing. TRAITOR! one screams at Shaft, and hurls itself towards him. The other four dart to Randall, to Pau, to Lei, to Yotee: Now for your reward! they sing.
Yes! Yes! Give it to me! Yotee barks, calling attention to himself, angling to help Caliban and trying to avoid his reward. The amplifier can take it, he'll slip right under its mouth if he can.
Bathed and then unbathed in fire, then attacked again, Randall barely has time to stagger to his feet, prying himself up with the walking stick he never let go of. The same stick he now whips over and down in a brutal crushing blow on his attacker.
Within the Phoenix's mouth, the flames of the Banefire roil and churn, held fast by the Great Spirit's power. It turns now, focusing its gaze upon Lei's attacker, and then the ground and air around it burn. Runes singe the sky and char the earth, a ritual circle burned in to the world by the Phoenixe's mystic will. The Banefire spins in its beak, cycling colors until its flames flicker and burn along in time with the Phoenix's own -- and then the Great Bird hurls the energy at the Master, a conflageration of arcane destruction!
As Yotee circles behind Caliban, the chimp fires on the Master trying to get Shaft. He drops it in a heartbeat, and has time to pump another round into the master spirit that's tracking on Yotee. It's a hasty shot and not as solid, but the Master is dazed as it crashes onto the coyote. It vanishes into him, and Yotee rolls onto his back.
Randall bashes the spirit trying for him, and it's likewise stunned. It slides into him nonetheless, and he lurches to one side, propping himself up with the Staff.
The golden filigree on the black Amplifier box glows brightly as the stunned Master is sucked into the lens. The lead lines leading to the Stunner and the Lantern likewise glow brightly.
The Phoenix rips into the spirit going after Lei, who panicks and flees for the trees. Miss Pau stands her ground before the spirit trying for her; her arms are folded before her with an expression of quiet determination.
The spirit sinks into Pau.
"Keep hitting it, Cal!" Herbert urges as he works the Amplifier to grind down the stunned Master.
The coyote squirms on the ground, snarling, yipping and wagging his tail. He behaves as if he's battling a horde of fleas while rolling in the sweetest decayed carcass he's ever found.
The chimpanzee howls a ferocious battlecry as his Stunner hums with more power than it's ever had in its life. He holds the Stunner down on the enemy Spirit until it's entirely absorbed.
"Kari!" Shaft calls out, looking around for the Unicorn. "We've got power for you!"
After five seconds, the Portal has grown from one yard to two. Three of the Master spirits have vanished into Players or Companions. One is being dissolved by the Amplifier, which is humming at an unsettling pitch, as is everything that it's feeding energy into. The battery attached to it is already overflowing with green goo. The last Master is writhing in combat with the Phoenix.
Other Masters wait beyond the Veil, for the Portal to broaden beyond the diameter covered by the Seal.
Marseilles darts around to the battery, and hesitantly touches her tongue to the goo leaking from it.
Herbert keeps one hand on the Amplifier, and reaches out to turn on the Spirit Lamp and turn it towards the Portal.
It's a battle, for his body, for himself. A familiar one to the coyote, but no less hard. He struggles to contain the master spirit; a warm, sympathetic touch gives him strength. He's being helped. He can feel it.
The Unicorn spends a precious few seconds making sure her Player is all right. "Go!" Rae says to her, recovering her feet. "Help them!"
The Phoenix's eyes blaze green again, its voice high and quavery, even with how forceful it sounds. There's little finesse to its actions at the moment, great talonned feat stomping the devil-like spirit below it. "There! For the Circle of Savoy! You've never suffered before, have you? We're spirit, but we're also mankind. We've had centuries of practice suffering, and we'll share it with you!"
The portal doubles in diameter, to four yard, and one of the Masters slithers to the far edge and squeezes out, with a pained grimace.
YOU CANNOT WIN. YOUR SEAL CANNOT HOLD US FOR LONG, a Master on the far side of the veil calls, taunting them.
What's left of the Master Caliban stunned is no longer even squirming. The Amplifier doesn't look like it's doing so well, though.
Boss! The Portal's growing! We've gotta do more than take out one or two at a time! calls Caliban as he looks up from the fading wisps of the master spirit to witness the growth. I'm gonna stick this right up the bee's nest. Cover me!
With that, the chimpanzee stands forward to jab the Stunner into the area the Seal covers, reaching through to touch the Masters within.
This time, the Phoenix's burning green eyes don't pale again, but seem to burn all the fiercer. It's hooked bill, trailing embers, dips down to the devil under its talons and seizes it, strong neck jerking back to tear brutally. That woman's voice comes stronger than before, strangely with a horse's whinney behind it, and the sound of wind roaring through tree branches. "Then come! Join your kin in the anguish they have earned!"
Herbert turns the Amplifier and the Lamp to where Caliban attacks the escaping Master.
"Phoenix, help us use this energy!" Shaft calls out.
The coyote fights, wracked with pain, tusseling for his body, his soul, his mind. Eyes closed, he snaps at phatoms, at the formless bundle that envolpes him in a thousand jaws and claws and none at the same time. His paws kick spastically in the air, his yelps meaningless except for one quiet gasp, Mother.
Ignoring the tempest of strife around him, Randall leans heavily on the Staff for support. Unlike Yotee's dramatic struggle, his is all within, as he strives to use years of memories of horror and pain as a weapon to drive out the invading spirit.
Your time is over, Master. You have fallen. The Phoenix adds, the color in its eyes returning to blazing white fire. The Great Bird steps from the now twitching Master, planting a foot squarely upon its torn form, and tilting its head back. All at once, the Master's blood, its flesh, its spirit shatters like glass, breaking in to streams of fluid that write in to words upon the air and the ground. These black, sinister words hover but briefly, then ignite, and their burning ashes join with the Phoenix. Oh the Masters, two have fallen, eighteen remain. We grow stronger -- they weaken! The bird then turns, and dashes towards the sound of Shaft's voice!
"Take the wire," Shaft tells the fiery spirit, gesturing quickly to the wire connected to the Lantern still.
The Unicorn leaps the remains of the Banefire to land beside the Amplifier. She touches her horn to one of its leads a moment after Caliban blasts the Stunner into the heart of the Portal. The Masters -- an entire mass of them -- gathered on the other side of the veil squeal and lurch, Stunned.
"I should have come up with a way to make a bomb," Shaft mutters once he sees that the Stunner can work past the Portal.
The Spirit Lamp attracts the master's attention. It sees one of the glowing feed wires of Amplifier then, and darts to it, intending to feed. However, the Stunner is offloading all available energy back through the Portal now, and little is left for him, or Kari, or Marseilles to feed upon.
"Whoa there!" Shaft says as the Master rushes forward, and turns the Amplifier towards it while hoping the Lamp is obscuring the action at least somewhat.
Zero plus twenty seconds, and the Portal has opened to six yards. Its outer edges are easily beyond the range of the Seal now, but the Masters on the far side are too stunned to take advantage of it.
In every struggle there is a moment when a balance is reached, then tips inexorably, irresistably to favour one side. The coyote's attains that point and he comes out victorious. His teeth metaphorically close around the master's throat, its back is broken, it is hamstrung and done. He clamps his will down, squeezing it, absorbing it, glowing in triumph and demi-god-like in power
Randall straightens up abruptly, as if weakness and pain were suddenly of no concern to him. Pointing the Staff at the portal, one handed, as if it were a wand, his quiet voice hammers out like an explosion "BURN!"
The chimpanzee, hearing Randall and having a good idea what's coming his way, jumps well back.
The Staff sets no fires on this side of the Portal, but beyond the veil a holocaust explodes.
Turning back to check on his master, the chimpanzee looks horrified as he sees the vaporous form of a Master lunging toward him. He charges to save him, lunging with the still-charged Stunner! Geddaway from him, he's MINE! You can't have him!
Herbert tries to hit the spirit with the lamp's box, but spirit-proof or not, it has no effect on the Master. It leaves the near-empty amplifier alone and lashes after Shaft.
Rowan says, "Yot"
Turning, the Phoenix watches the Other Side immolate in a maelstrom of fire. Yes! Let the fire cleanse your wicked spirits, Randall, we are with you! Opening its wings wide, the Great Bird begins to flap, a eerie chanting echoing through the minds of the gathered. Foreign words, ancient sounding, making the hairs on the necks of the assembled stand on end -- if they're not already! They grow in intensity, and then the air shreaks as the bird blossoms in to a blazing star of fire, its pinnions raining forward like blazing arrows, soot and ash and fire flying forth in to the widening gateway. The storm of death pauses quickly, leaving a shimmering sphere hovering before the Pheonix as the smoke clears. Your turn, ma'dam, the bird tells itself, gesturing to the ball of light that awaits being sent to its final destination.
No! The coyote snarls, burning with new power. He told Marseilles, when something is larger, you have to be smarter, tricker, to get the advantage. The corollary is, when you're stronger, you don't have to. You just attack. The master is distracted, intent on Shaft, it's prey, ignoring it's surroundings and wide open to a strike. Yotee takes it, snatching it as it closes on Herbet and pinning it like a rabbit.
"Thank you," the Phoenix says to itself, its eyes greening a moment. From arcane intricacy to an almost base contrast of simple force, the creature demonstrates the movement of earth that Kari spoke of, a boulder leaping out of the underbrush, still trailing clods of dirt as it tumbles through the prepared globe of light and glows red with the heat as the gathered energy clings to it. "You wanted our world, here's a little piece of it for you!" The burning boulder hurtles through the Portal like a comet and into the conflagration raised by Randall, and somewhere beyond the sheets of flame it can be heard to detonate with a dull boom.
Even after the blast from the Phoenix, the Portal continues to grow in size, expanding to ten yards, then eighteen, then thirty four, as the seconds trickle past.
But what doesn't happen, however, is more Masters emerging from it. Yotee finishes shredding the Master he attacked, which has this startled, disbelieving look at being struck by something as powerful as itself. It has defenses -- they just aren't good enough.
On the far side of the Portal, what they can see of the Other is a brutalized wasteland. Any Masters there have cleared off. For the moment, at least, it looks like the fight is over ...
... For everyone except Miss Pau, any way. Lei has returned and is hovering over her, as Rae Mikkelsen holds the woman. "What's wrong with her? Is there anything you can do?"
After catching his breath, Shaft asks, "Well.. do we shut off the Seal and hunt down the rest later?" He then looks with concern to Pau.
Miss Pau is twitching, limbs jerking wildly and her eyes rolled back in her head.
"Now you shut down the seal, grab what you can." Randall says firmly "And run. You won't stop the portal from spilling open wide, so get out while you can."
Yotee straightens up after he dispatches the second master, he turns to Shaft and paws at his spirit-proof box. This, its coating. A powder of that would make the inside of the portal like a brambles, not impossible to pass, but painful and slow.
The chimpanzee lifts his finger from the button on the Stunner. He looks worried. He hadn't contemplated what to do if we actually succeeded in destroying... most... of the Masters. Great Bird? Unicorn? Can you help Miss Pau? I think... She's struggling with a Master.
"I can grind up the rest of the Black Stone and bring it back," Shaft tells the coyote.
The Unicorn looks sober, her flanks trembling. He is right, you know, she says with a nod to Randall. They are not as weak as they seemed, in this battle. They were foolish, and they did not realize the powers you have or that you could affect them. But there are many more than we have seen so far, and they will not make these mistakes again.
Randall drops to one knee beside the rough hewn rock figure that Yotee had brought to the Banefire, and lays a hand on it. "Here goes...something." He mutters.
Herbert starts taking apart the body of the Darklight Camera that surrounds the Lamp. "We can break down these panels first," he says.
Nothing happens to the rock in his hand at first. Then there's a stirring and a presence fills the clearing. Randall diminihes as it grows: it's the opposite of everything that had been at the Hill before. The radiant warmth of day, the love of a mother's embrace, the reassurance that everything will be All Right. That everything is All Right.
Mother rises.
She's immense and soft and comfortable, and she smiles at Randall. Thank you, pumpkin. She goes to Miss Pau and scoops her up in one great arm, rocking her. Poor little girl. There, there. You're strong. It's not gonna get you, baby. Honey -- she looks at the Phoenix, -- where's the Stone?
The Phoenix's eyes flash green, and dull again, emerald flames licking up from them, and the great bird seems disoriented. "Wh-... is it over? Is everyone alright? Miss Pau..." The bird turns to look at the portal, still expanding, then back at Randall and the stone. The sensation of reassurance encourages the Phoenix to turn away again and lower its head down to the unconscious Chinese woman.
"It's... we set it out from our doctor's bag, didn't we?" answers the Phoenix. "Girard-self used it, it should be here." Abruptly, the green eyes fade back to gold, and the Phoenix's female voice fades away.
"Mother?" Shaft asks, a bit in awe. "Gaia? Eve?"
Mother. Yotee agrees simply.
The chimpanzee blinks at a sudden thought. Is it you that they wanted? he asks suddenly of Mother. That they were so desperate to get back, they wanted to invade our world?
Mother looks around for the bag, and goes to it, still carrying Pau. Ah ... there you are. C'mere. I know you don't like this any more than I do. She takes the Stone from the bag. Easy now ... She rests it against Pau's forehead, then over her heart. The Chinese woman's trembling stills. A moment later, she opens her eyes. They are black from edge to edge, and she's crying. She whispers in Chinese, and Mother rocks her, making soothing noises.
"The Master has been bound into that stone?" Shaft quietly asks Yotee.
Randall slowly straightens up, and stretches, as if testing stiff muscles. "Well and good, I won't be adding godslayer to my list today." he whispers before walking over to his ruck. "Still, I am not what I was, now, so expect no more miracles from me."
Mother smiles at Caliban, shaking her head. Oh no, sweetie pie. It's not me they want. It's you. She gestures. All of you, my little chicks. You were their toys, oh-so-long-ago, and like spoiled children they want their toys back, to break and abuse.
Mother, the Phoenix projects, in a voice more akin to Horus's own. We did not think that you would return to us. Yours is an old memory. The bird's head tilts, regarding Mother. Have we done well, has our task been successful? Is there more? Horus's voice, mixed as it is with Bernice's and Girard's own, sounds tired now, like a man who has been pushing himself, and yet can't find where to stop. We can strive more, Mother. We are prepared to go on.
Yotee nods, confirming Shaft's question. It is her, she often sleeps.
"She's the one who created us all?" Herbert asks next. "The one who Opened the portal from her realm to Earth so long ago?"
Baby. Mother extends a hand to cup the Phoenix's head, smooth the feathered crest. You've done well, baby, all of you. There'll be more. You know that. But you can do it. You're such good children. You've done so much. I used to worry -- you know that, don't you? She turns a fond eye to Yotee. But I'm not worried any more, sweetie pie. You'll find a way. I know you will.
The Portal has grown while they talked, exponentially as it was before. By now, the edges are beyond the limits of even the Phoenix's perception.
Caliban looks abashed up at Mother, and then alarmed as he hears the Phoenix's voice. He nods in agreement, face setting into determination. Me an' the boss, we'll be there, Mother. I guess there's no closin' the Portal now, but we broke the biggest, baddest bunch of them. It's them that oughta be worried.
"Bernice is a very good hunter," Shaft comments.
The Phoenix pushes its head back against Mother, crooning audibly, a sound of happines, and of joy. We will continue. Our fire will not fade, the Great Bird promises. So long as we are needed, we will remain in unity.
Lantern back in the pot, pot tied back on the ruck, Randall heaves the pack onto his back casually, as if it had grown much lighter since he laid it down. "War will be waged across the world, and what will be broken may one day rise again. If you want this, go make it happen, gather and lead, for this was just a beginning. But it is a good beginning. Good luck, good bye."
Shaft smacks his hands together and rubs them. "Well.. this has all given me some new ideas. I think a variation of the Compass could be used to track down the rogues, and the Stunner can certainly be improved upon..." He takes his notebook from his pocket and starts writing in it.
Miss Pau takes the Grail and goes to Hale, turning him over. He's breathing, albeit not well, but when she pours a little water into him from the cup, his breathing eases. "It is a very good beginning," she says, softly. "Farewell, Mr. Waite."
The coyote pants, his eye wide as he gazes on Mother, his tongue lolling out as he savours her approval. He didn't fail her, he was a good boy, though it was a crooked path. He promises, as before, I will.